Whitson and her spacewalking partner, Shane Kimbrough, need to complete prep work on a docking port. Kimbrough disconnected the port during a spacewalk last Friday. Flight controllers in Houston moved it to a new location Sunday. It will serve as a parking spot for future commercial crew capsules.

Midway through Thursday’s spacewalk, Whitson will surpass the current record for women of 50 hours and 40 minutes of total accumulated spacewalking time.

The 57-year-old Whitson has been in orbit since November.

Whitson, meanwhile, has set a new spacewalking record for women. She has surpassed the 50-hour, 40-minute mark of accumulated spacewalking time, previously set by former station resident Sunita Williams. This is the eighth spacewalk of Whitson’s career, more than any other woman. At age 57, Whitson is the oldest spacewoman ever and also the most experienced.